Bureaucrats slam ‘double standard’ in awarding military medals

Bureaucrats working alongside the Canadian Forces in
Afghanistan are baffled why civilian police officers and Tim Hortons employees
at Kandahar Airfield are eligible for military medals but they aren’t.

Public servants were eligible for the military’s General Service Medal when
the mission began in 2002 and they worked under the authority of the Canadian
Forces. But several months ago, bureaucrats were notified by Afghanistan Task
Force officials they no longer qualified because they don’t work for the
military.

The change ruffled feathers earlier this month when Task Force Commander
Brig-Gen. Dean Milner handed out medals to 14 civilian police officers at the
Kandahar Airfield for their nine-month stint working with Afghan police.
Bureaucrats say most police officers are paid by the Foreign Affairs Department
and work for it on its projects.

National Defence officials have since begun an examination into whom the
civilian police reported to and whether they were given the wrong medal.

For some, this medal confusion raises the question of whether there is a
broader, more flexible interpretation of medal eligibility as long as “you
wear a uniform, any uniform.”

Ron Cochrane, executive director of the Professional Association of Foreign
Service Officers, said he’s disappointed and confused why the 80 public
servants and foreign service officers the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade has posted in Afghanistan aren’t eligible for the award.
Many work alongside the military, face the same dangers and are typically
posted there for a year or longer.

“Why would they discontinue the medal for public service employees who work
along with the military on the provincial reconstruction teams and are subject
to same dangers but they give it to the guys working in Tim Hortons? It’s
ridiculous they are treated so differently.”

Cochrane said the situation feeds the perception that the Harper government
has a “double standard” in the way it treats and supports the military and
public servants on the Afghan mission.

“Public servants generally get shortchanged in the level of care and
support when they’re wounded and the benefits they receive,” he said.

“There seems to be a lesser standard for the public service. I’m not taking
anything away from the military but they are well-represented by the government
and members of Parliament but there doesn’t appear to be anyone representing
the public servants working in those theatres.”

National Defence officials said the general service medal is a military
honour, designed to award personnel who work for the forces. That includes
contractors working for the military or support services, such as those running
the base’s gym, canteen or Tim Hortons.

They say the contributions of public servants and other civilians are
“highly valued” and should be recognized, but a military medal is not
appropriate.

The medal debate revolves around the chain of command rather than who is
deserving.

When the mission began in 2002, all personnel, including public servants,
worked under the military umbrella.

Canada opened its embassy in Kabul in 2003 and as a result, public servants
from various departments deployed to Afghanistan early in the mission were
considered to be working under the authority of the Canadian Forces. While
under military command, they qualified for the General Service Medal.

That changed when Canada adopted its “whole of government” approach which
included the three D’s — defence, diplomacy and development.

With this approach, the notion of security was expanded from defence to
economic, social and political development. Provincial reconstruction teams
used personnel from the military, Foreign Affairs, Canadian International
Development Agency and the RCMP for security as well as rebuilding the country
and political structure.

This whole-of-government approach and its many players, however, seem to
have muddied the previous clear lines in the chain of command.

A major review was launched to simplify the service recognition for the
Canadian Forces. That review found gaps with some people not covered by
existing medals. As a result, a new Operational Service Medal was created to
recognize those in theatres of operations in Afghanistan, Haiti, Sierra Leone
and Sudan. This medal was available to anyone who served full time there or
“under dangerous circumstances outside Canada.”

Public servants, however, didn’t qualify for that medal, either.

The question of how to recognize public servants and other civilians
recently landed at the Chancellery of Honours at Government House, which
manages the country’s national honours.

Officials confirm the Chancellery is studying the most “appropriate” way
to recognize public servants who aren’t eligible for the operational or service
medals.

In his first new year’s message, Gov. Gen. David Johnston said Canadians
should be inspired by what soldiers and the civilians “working at their side”
are doing in Afghanistan.